


28.5

by jarp743



Category: Love Simon (2018), Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-06-11 06:58:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15309921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jarp743/pseuds/jarp743
Summary: After being grounded, Simon has an unexpected conversation with his little sister.





	28.5

It’s the Sunday before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and I’ve barely said more than two words to my parents since Friday night. I’m in my room, listening to music on my iPod, but I may as well be sitting in silence because the lyrics of the songs hardly register. I’m thinking about Friday night. I can’t believe I got drunk. Also, I can’t believe I’m freaking grounded. I’ve never been grounded. The closest I ever got to being in this much trouble was in eighth grade when I “borrowed” twenty bucks from my Dad’s wallet to buy a Passion Pit CD. 

I feel a vibration in my pocket, and I reach for my phone. But of course there’s nothing there. My phone is probably in my Mom’s nightstand. A second later I feel it again. Alice says there’s actually a name for this sensation – “phantom vibration syndrome.” I guess that’s better than “desperate to have contact with the outside world disorder.” 

There’s a knock at my door, and I cringe at the thought of having to talk to my parents. The door swings open slowly, but it’s just Nora, followed by Bieber. 

“Can I come in?” asks Nora.

“Um, you already are,” I say, scratching the fur around Beiber’s collar. His tail beats out a quick rhythm on the floor.

Nora smiles. “So… ”

“Fine,” I say, sliding to the floor from the edge of my bed. Bieber gives me a frantic lick before settling onto my lap. 

Nora crosses the room and sits at my desk. Bieber yawns and flips onto his back. Nora and I both roll our eyes.

“Bieber’s got it pretty good,” says Nora.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t mind being a dog, especially this weekend,” I say, rubbing Bieber’s stomach.

“About that,” Nora begins. “I overheard Mom and Dad talking yesterday. What happened?”

I shift, and Bieber flops off my lap. “I don’t want to talk about it,” I say.

Nora frowns. “Well, if it helps at all, I got in trouble too.”

“You? What could you have possibly done? Did you get more piercings without asking for permission?”

“LOL, Simon,” says Nora. 

“Okay, so you tell me what you did, and maybe I’ll tell you what I did,” I say.

“Simon… ”

“Whatever. I’ll tell you, but you go first.”

Nora sucks in her bottom lip. “I hit somebody at school.”

“What?” I say louder than I intended. “You got in a fight?”

“It wasn’t really a fight, but, yeah, I hit this kid, and Ms. Knight happened to walk by as it happened.”

“No freaking way!” I say. “Who was it?”

“Just some jerk in my grade. It was right before lunch, you know, after your dress rehearsal. He said something about, well, he said something that he shouldn’t say.”

I feel a tightness in my stomach. “Nora, did he say something about the play?”

Nora looks down at the floor. “He said the play was gay. He said all the boys in the play were gay, and then he turned to me and asked me… ”

“Asked you what?”

“He asked me if you like to dress up in my clothes.”

“That’s ridiculous. I could never fit in one of your skirts.”

“Simon.”

“Sorry, but I couldn’t help it. Jeez, Nora, I can’t believe you hit him.”

“Yeah, well, I guess it had been building up since we got back from break,” she says.

I swallow thickly. “Have other kids been saying stuff?”

“Not a lot, and not anyone whose opinion I care about, but there’s been a few comments made about you being gay.”

I stand up and start pacing. I never thought about what it may have been like for Nora. I mean, I wouldn’t expect kids in ninth grade to be mature about this kind of stuff, but I didn’t think they’d bother Nora.

“I’m sorry,” I say, sitting on the corner of my bed.

“What are you sorry for?”

“I don’t know. I guess for not thinking how my being out at school would affect you.”

“Simon, that’s ridiculous. Some kids are jerks. If they weren’t making stupid comments about you being gay, they’d be making fun of someone else’s weight,” Nora says.

I smile. “When did you get so grown up?”

Nora shrugs. “Maybe around the same time you started crushing on boys.”

I fall back onto my bed, and when I sit up I fling a pillow at Nora. She dodges it, and I manage to knock an open bag of Goldfish crackers onto the floor. Beiber jumps up and cleans the mess better than any vacuum. 

“Now it’s your turn,” says Nora.

“I got drunk,” I say.

“Really?”

“At a gay bar.”

“Shut up!”

“Well, it was more like a gay restaurant, but there was a bar too.”

“What makes a restaurant gay?” asks Nora.

“Good question. I’ll ask the next time I go. If there ever is a next time.”

Nora is silent for a few seconds.

“Well, are you going to say something?” I ask. 

“OMG.”

I reach for another pillow and hold it over my head. “Don’t make me throw this.”

“Go ahead,” says Nora, and she points to a blue package on my desk. “I’m sure Bieber would like some Oreos to wash down the Goldfish.”

We both laugh. It feels good. I actually can’t believe I’m laughing after everything that’s happened in the past week. Nora smiles at me, and I smile back.

“I saw your laptop in the living room,” she says.

“Yep. And they took my phone. Oh, and I’m grounded for two weeks, except for the play.”

“Do you want me to let anyone know what’s going on?” asks Nora.

I blush. “What do you mean? Who would—”

“I don’t know, maybe Nick or Leah. I’m sure they’ve been texting or emailing you.”

“Thanks,” I say, “but it’s fine. If he has been trying to get a hold of me, I’m sure Nick figured out what the deal is.”

“What about Leah?”

Good question. I have no way of knowing if Nick or Abby told her about Friday night. I mean, I don’t think she and Abby talk much outside of when we’re in a group, but Leah hangs out at Nick’s house a lot. She could be there right now. If she asked Nick about where the three of us were on Friday, I don’t think he could lie to her.

“Um, no, it’s fine. I’ll fill everybody in on Tuesday.”

“Okay, but if you change your mind, let me know,” says Nora, standing up. “I’m sorry you’re grounded.”

“Hey, but what about you? What did Mom and Dad say about you getting in trouble at school?”

“They were actually pretty cool about it. After I told them what the kid said. Mom got teary-eyed and Dad just squeezed my hand before he made a quick exit. He seemed choked up too. Anyway, I guess they were saving up their ‘tough love’ for you.”

I stand up and reach Nora as she walks to my bedroom door. She furrows her brow at me, and I smirk before pulling her into a hug. 

“Oof,” Nora says. “What was that for?”

“For sticking up for your big gay brother,” I say.

Bieber jumps up on his hind legs and bats us with his front paws. 

“Okay, okay, boy. I’ll take you for… aw, crap. I don’t think I’m even allowed to take him for a w-a-l-k.”

“It’s alright. I’ll take him before I leave.”

“Where are you going?” I ask.

Nora shifts her eyes back and forth. “Wouldn’t you like to know? Come on, Bieber.”

I smile as she leaves the room with Beiber in tow. Freaking Nora is full of surprises. And she’s more badass than I have ever thought possible. 

I fall backwards onto my bed and put a pillow over my head. There is someone I’d like to let know what’s going on, but I’m not about to tell Nora about my emails with Blue. Besides, how would I ever explain what happened Friday night and why I’m not able to email him myself?

Still, if I ever do find out who Blue is, and if he was willing to be seen with me in public, maybe I could take him to Webster’s. Maybe I could get a fake ID and buy us a couple of those strangely delicious orange drinks. And maybe, just maybe, I could hold his hand. Or kiss him. 

But right now, I’d settle for just knowing his name.


End file.
